2019 NBA Draft

[Nathan S]

I certainly don't think Williams will be a liability on the defensive end but in a league that is moving toward individual matchups, I do think the question of who we guards and how well he can guard them one-on-one is a legitimate question.. Thinking about it further, considering his body type, taking a page out of PJ Tucker's notebook might not be a bad idea for Williams..

I like Williams and think he'll stick around because he doesn't need the ball to be productive and finds a way to contribute positively when on the floor, but the question exists of just how good he can be...

I'm actually a big Fernando fan, I just really like the way he plays, the space he takes up, how physical he is and his feel offensively, but realize he's not going to be everyone's taste because he is more of a center circa 10 years ago and not for today's game.. However, despite that, the athleticism is there that will play and he'll be a useful big if he's taken post-lottery...

Now if we're talking about modern day bigs, his frosh teammate Jalen Smith has a real chance to be the modern era 3&D big that teams will be all over.. He's got a really long, agile frame that looks like he can put some good solid mass on and not lose any of that agility... He had 5 blocks and 8 rebounds today to go along with a decent looking shot... If you liked Jaren Jackson Jr., I think Smith fits into that type of category..

PJ Tucker has been a popular comp for him defensively, and it's a flattering one. If he's as good as Tucker on that end, he could be *really* good overall.

As for elite offensive upside, I don't claim to know the secret formula there more than anyone else does. But if you had to pick one thing, efficient volume scoring in clutch time has to be important...right? The last few months he's been as good as anyone in that department.

As for Fernando, I don't know what it is, but he just looks like the slowest guy on the court too often. Obviously that's an easy thing to say after watching the end of that game, but it's not the first time I've noticed it. I think people generally worry too much about bigs getting run off the court, but he's one guy it could actually happen to, IMO. Don't think he'll be able to keep up with the pace and ball movement at the next level.

Agree that Jalen Smith is a fun sleeper (probably for another year). Him and Claxton are guys I see as poor man's Jaren Jackson type prospects.

 

[Nathan S]

Also noticed that Goga won Adriatic League MVP. He's the youngest player ever to win it, edging out Saric and Jokic by a few months. Arguably the best Euro big man prospect in a very long time.

 

[WorldFreeB]

Damn this Morant kid is pretty good.

 

[Alec]

How does Ja grade out with traditional athleticism?

He’s kinda just toying around.

 

[NorthCoastBias]

You’ve all got about 20 minutes left to watch Morant before his college career comes to a close.

 

[Alec]

Ja is bored. And realizes he can’t win this all on his own.

It’s actually a funny reality for a guy his size. He can’t impose like a Zion. He can dominate in other ways but he can’t win a game at this level with these teammates.

 

[Nathan S]

Jontay re-tore his ACL. Whoa. His range yesterday was probably something like 6-20, now...20-undrafted?

 

[Kouki]

I want to see Ja just go unconscious and shoot every damn shot the rest of the way

 

[inliner311]

Jontay re-tore his ACL. Whoa. His range yesterday was probably something like 6-20, now...20-undrafted?

He probably stays in school. No point to risk going undrafted especially when he can't prove himself in summer league. Even getting picked in the 2nd round doesn't guarantee him much.

This is another instance where the NBA not having an IR spot hurts players and teams. He could get drafted and stashed on IR to rehab without taking up a roster spot if he was going to the NFL.

 

[Nathan S]

He probably stays in school. No point to risk going undrafted especially when he can't prove himself in summer league. Even getting picked in the 2nd round doesn't guarantee him much.

This is another instance where the NBA not having an IR spot hurts players and teams. He could get drafted and stashed on IR to rehab without taking up a roster spot if he was going to the NFL.

Just a wild situation. So sad. Such a talented player and such a great teammate. Would've certainly been a first rounder if he'd declared last year, and now he may never get a pro contract.

 

[Smooth]

PJ Tucker has been a popular comp for him defensively, and it's a flattering one. If he's as good as Tucker on that end, he could be *really* good overall.

As for elite offensive upside, I don't claim to know the secret formula there more than anyone else does. But if you had to pick one thing, efficient volume scoring in clutch time has to be important...right? The last few months he's been as good as anyone in that department.

As for Fernando, I don't know what it is, but he just looks like the slowest guy on the court too often. Obviously that's an easy thing to say after watching the end of that game, but it's not the first time I've noticed it. I think people generally worry too much about bigs getting run off the court, but he's one guy it could actually happen to, IMO. Don't think he'll be able to keep up with the pace and ball movement at the next level.

Agree that Jalen Smith is a fun sleeper (probably for another year). Him and Claxton are guys I see as poor man's Jaren Jackson type prospects.

That's sort of the role I see him carving out, and being within the realm of him being able to do... I don't see him as that level defender but I think that's a similar path for him to follow if he wants to have longevity: rebound, defend, play smart, do the small things and hit outside shots; which again, are things he should be able to do.. I think on what level he'll be able to do that and how much he'll be able to expand outside of that will dictate his career path...

Like I said, I don't think Fernando is for everyone but his player comp from me is somewhere between Dewayne Dedmon (pre-three point efficiency) and Nene... He's a guy who isn't going to fit every team but if guys like Jokic, Nurkic, Vucevic, Brook Lopez, etc., can be a part of top-end defenses, I don't think it's outside the realm to think Fernando couldn't either... His calling card is going to be his rebounding and feel offensively, along with his + size which are exciting things to build upon with his college efficiency and advanced stats...

Speaking of guys to watch for next year, Mfiondu Kabengele had a realllllly impressive game vs. Murray State and pretty much stole the show (imo) from Morant in the second half... Playing for Leonard Hamilton and seeing how he's brought him along and instilling a defensive, physical mindset in Kabengele is really a great asset to have moving forward... He's a really fluid looking 4/small ball 5 who is pretty agile and has got some skills offensively... I'm really looking forward to seeing year 3 development after where he's come the last two years...

 

[Nathan S]

That's sort of the role I see him carving out, and being within the realm of him being able to do... I don't see him as that level defender but I think that's a similar path for him to follow if he wants to have longevity: rebound, defend, play smart, do the small things and hit outside shots; which again, are things he should be able to do.. I think on what level he'll be able to do that and how much he'll be able to expand outside of that will dictate his career path...

Like I said, I don't think Fernando is for everyone but his player comp from me is somewhere between Dewayne Dedmon (pre-three point efficiency) and Nene... He's a guy who isn't going to fit every team but if guys like Jokic, Nurkic, Vucevic, Brook Lopez, etc., can be a part of top-end defenses, I don't think it's outside the realm to think Fernando couldn't either... His calling card is going to be his rebounding and feel offensively, along with his + size which are exciting things to build upon with his college efficiency and advanced stats...

Speaking of guys to watch for next year, Mfiondu Kabengele had a realllllly impressive game vs. Murray State and pretty much stole the show (imo) from Morant in the second half... Playing for Leonard Hamilton and seeing how he's brought him along and instilling a defensive, physical mindset in Kabengele is really a great asset to have moving forward... He's a really fluid looking 4/small ball 5 who is pretty agile and has got some skills offensively... I'm really looking forward to seeing year 3 development after where he's come the last two years...

Williams is a level above Tucker as a scorer, though. 23.6 points/40 on 65% true shooting, compared to 18.6 points/40 on 56% true shooting for Tucker. That's what gives him an interesting ceiling for me.

How does Fernando's offense translate thought? Games like today, everything's moving too fast for him and he ends up with a line like 10 points and 5 turnovers. I don't feel like he has the potential to be a #1/#2 guy on offense, and if he's not going to be an elite defensive player either...why would I roll the dice on him?

Kabengele's crazy. If he was averaging more than 0.3 assists per game my draft rater would have him as one of the top sleepers in the draft.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Kabengele's crazy. If he was averaging more than 0.3 assists per game my draft rater would have him as one of the top sleepers in the draft.

Guys my stuff likes as sleepers......at this point, I guess I'm supposed to include Williams on this list?

My personal opinion on NBA sleeper criteria......willingness to shoot 3's in college, at minimum passable defense, positionally underrated for their draft slotting and at-least neutral shooting potential at the NBA level (i.e. likely just as good). Martin I bent a bit on the DBPM number because SF is a weak position and he is generally underrated.

These guys fit that profile, that maybe deserve a second look....sorted by HH# (HoopsHype Aggregate).....data may be a little off. Numbers don't include post season stats yet (conference tourney / NCAA / NIT).

Again on the shooting potential thing.....the number summarizes the possible improvement a player can make relative to his current shooting tier. Meaning.....It doesn't think Bey and Williams will be equivalent shooters, it is saying they both can see a near (2) shooting tier bump. So it thinks Williams floor spacing ceiling is roughly +2.5 to 5% in the NBA, as is Bey's. So you would consider that based on their current 3P% figure.

Konate is a little funky because his data is a smaller set but he's far more interesting seeing his uptick in 3PA and %.....as either a very late 2nd or summer league signing. I doubt his shooting potential is that of a 40+% NBA shooter but he's an 82% FT shooter as a big and took rather high volume 3's for a PF/C in the small sample size. So this would obviously like him a lot if you think that is at all sustainable.

Sadly, Porter was on this list but I removed him with the injury.

 

[Smooth]

Guys my stuff likes as sleepers......at this point, I guess I'm supposed to include Williams on this list?

My personal opinion on NBA sleeper criteria......willingness to shoot 3's in college, at minimum passable defense, positionally underrated for their draft slotting and at-least neutral shooting potential at the NBA level (i.e. likely just as good). Martin I bent a bit on the DBPM number because SF is a weak position and he is generally underrated.

These guys fit that profile, that maybe deserve a second look....sorted by HH# (HoopsHype Aggregate).....data may be a little off. Numbers don't include post season stats yet (conference tourney / NCAA / NIT).

Juwan Morgan is a guy I kept noticing whenever I turned on Indiana to watch Langford, even more so than Langford..

I'm not sure where his size leaves him at the next level but just enjoyed the energy/activity level he played with and the versatile offensive threat he provided Indiana...

Williams is a level above Tucker as a scorer, though. 23.6 points/40 on 65% true shooting, compared to 18.6 points/40 on 56% true shooting for Tucker. That's what gives him an interesting ceiling for me.

How does Fernando's offense translate thought? Games like today, everything's moving too fast for him and he ends up with a line like 10 points and 5 turnovers. I don't feel like he has the potential to be a #1/#2 guy on offense, and if he's not going to be an elite defensive player either...why would I roll the dice on him?

Kabengele's crazy. If he was averaging more than 0.3 assists per game my draft rater would have him as one of the top sleepers in the draft.

His turnovers are something I've noticed he does need to clean up, he can get a bit sloppy with the ball in the post..

However, I didn't think Maryland did a good job of playing through Fernando considering he's their best offensive set... They also didn't run a lot of P&R with him, which pretty much made him an offensive rebounding only type role for a large part of the game..

To me, Fernando's best asset is operating on the block, his feel for finding players off of block touches (one of better big man passers in this draft) and his finishing potential... In the few games I've watched this far, he's shown the ability to create his own shots and is real strong; there's a couple times where his drop-step left defender with no chance to recover...

 

[Nathan S]

His turnovers are something I've noticed he does need to clean up, he can get a bit sloppy with the ball in the post..

However, I didn't think Maryland did a good job of playing through Fernando considering he's their best offensive set... They also didn't run a lot of P&R with him, which pretty much made him an offensive rebounding only type role for a large part of the game..

To me, Fernando's best asset is operating on the block, his feel for finding players off of block touches (one of better big man passers in this draft) and his finishing potential... In the few games I've watched this far, he's shown the ability to create his own shots and is real strong; there's a couple times where his drop-step left defender with no chance to recover...

Agree that Maryland doesn't always use him as well as they could...he seems to get discouraged sometimes after a couple of bad possessions, and instead of showing trust in him and continuing to feed him the ball they just forget about him for long stretches. Whatever team drafts him will have to make a conscious effort to keep him involved in the offense, because if you just use him as rebounding specialist that's going to be a self-fulfilling prophesy where he never develops his all-around skills.